


Life of The Party

by InterstellarVagabond



Series: What it Means to be Alive [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor is forced to attend a party, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Markus is polyam, Other, Simon and North and some others are there too but they don't have huge roles so I'm not tagging them, again didn't write as Connor/Markus but feel free to read it that way, fluff with some implied angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 02:56:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16778203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterstellarVagabond/pseuds/InterstellarVagabond
Summary: Hank and Markus are still talking about Connor, trying to get him to to go outside and meet new people. When Markus invites Connor to a New Years party at New Jericho Hank decides Connor doesn't get to turn the invitation down to sit at home all night. Connor isn't super pleased about going to what used to be Cyberlife Tower or making small talk, but he's got no choice now.You don't have to read part one for it to make sense but it helps!





	Life of The Party

**Author's Note:**

> Connor: dad they're drinking beer come pick me up
> 
> Hank: Can't I'm drinking beer too
> 
> I was gonna do a lot more with this but I was struggling to write it so I just ended and posted it. Someone I was talking to while writing it insisted Connor get a New Year's kiss from Markus but I'm still neutral on that ship and I don't feel like I could pull off writing for it yet so I didn't but if you wanna imagine it happens go for it. Markus does absolutely have a line of Josh Simon and North waiting for their New Years kisses either way.
> 
> I'm gonna name so many background characters after Asimov references. Lemme know if you guys have anything you'd like to see addressed with Hank and Markus teaching Connor how to live, I'd like to keep this series going!

Connor was programmed to be good at lying, to be stealthy, to escape from hostile situations and get his way because his way was Cyberlife’s way and Cyberlife could not afford to fail.

Connor thinks whoever wrote his program was probably fired before Cyberlife even shut down.

“You’re going, it’s settled,” Hank said, throwing on a thick coat with a generous helping of Sumo hair dashed across its surface. “You spent Christmas with me and the DPD, you’re gonna spend New Years with other androids. It’ll be good for you.”

“I left some important paperwork back at the station, I should really swing by and finish it,” Connor said, rolling his coin across his fingers with a lazy sort of precision.

“You’re not scheduled today. You’re off. It’s a holiday. No work,” Hank replied.

“Well… then I’ve been meaning to start another game, I’ve heard the Kingdom Hearts series is good and very complex,” Connor said. “I could start it tonight and-”

“I knew I was gonna regret letting you drag that old Playstation out of my closet,” Hank sighed. “No work. No video games. No staying home to ‘watch Sumo,’ no ‘that person looks suspicious maybe I should investigate,’ no ‘I need to update my software’ you’re gonna go and you’re gonna have fun and socialize and you’re not gonna sit around on my couch and your ass for the rest of your life.”

“I do plenty of other things,” Connor huffed.

“No, you don’t, you’re a workaholic and a shut-in and there’s an android sized dent in my couch. I already told Markus you’d be there anyway.”

Hank and Markus had kept up their talks even after Connor revealed he knew what they were up to. When Connor had told Hank he knew, Hank had just gruffly made the excuse that he needed someone who knew about android repair and upkeep since Connor was bound to ‘get his ass shot’ with the reckless way he behaved on the job. However, Connor saw Markus’s name pop up on Hank’s phone way too often for them to just be discussing thirium replenishment and spare parts. Instead, it seemed they were discussing Connor’s social life or lack thereof, since it wasn’t long after Connor politely refused Markus’s invitation to the New Year’s party at New Jericho that Hank decided he was in fact going whether he liked it or not.

“If you want me to leave the house I could just come with you,” Connor argued.

“Last time you and I were in a bar together you poured my drink out on the floor,” Hank said. “So no. You won’t be missing anything, Fowler will get trashed and do karaoke and Reed will get punched at some point but I’ll film it for you so you can skip around the other few hours of boring coworker small talk.”

“Detective Reed will be punched and you want me to miss that?” Connor said.

“Enough stalling, get ready I’ll drop you off on my way,” Hank said.

Connor sighed, a small thing that meant a lot. Just a month and a half ago sighing was something he was programmed to mimic to make humans feel more at ease just like his smile or a wink or a laugh. Not that he did much laughing back then. Now he sighed cause he felt anxiety building inside him.

He had decided anxiety and fear were two of his least favorite emotions. They were unwelcome feelings forcing their way into his life whenever he chased a criminal or, apparently, was forced to attend a party. He still remembered the first time someone had pointed a gun at him after he deviated. It hadn’t been that long ago Hank had pointed a gun at him and he’d leaned into it and pressed the barrel to his temple not even feeling how cold the metal was. Then he was there, staring down a weapon in the hands of an anti-android protestor turned violent presence, and he was sure he would die. He’d frozen up, if Hank hadn’t been there he might really be dead because he froze up instead of acting.

Fear and anxiety he definitely did not like. He much rather go to the bar with Hank and see how petty satisfaction felt once Detective Reed said something that got him punched.

Hank wouldn’t budge on the issue though, he was as stubborn as Sumo with his mouth on a tennis ball that he wanted Connor to throw but not take. So Connor went and threw on an outfit he hoped matched the atmosphere of the event and joined Hank in the car.

“You don’t have to sulk about it,” Hank sighed, turning the keys in the ignition. Connor swallowed a habitual ‘androids do not sulk’ and instead opted to say:

“I have free will, I can do whatever I want.”

Hank snorted in amusement, which did lessen Connor’s sulking a fraction.

Hank dropped him off at the old Cyberlife building. Connor knew he should call it “New Jericho” but it would always be the old Cyberlife building to him no matter how he tried to forget it. It didn’t take long for the company to shut down, even if android rights weren’t slowly being written into law, the revolution had put a lot of eyes on the company and a lot of broken laws had come to light. Connor was one of those laws himself, an android programmed to use a firearm and bend the law as he saw fit to accomplish his mission.

With the building no longer in use selling androids, it was decided it would service and house androids instead. Homeless androids flocked there in droves, some volunteered there doing repairs, filing legal paperwork, or helping with the fight to recognize android rights. Connor tended to avoid the place.

Walking through the front door, Connor noticed the identification system was still active. He shuddered as the wave of light washed over him and identified him as RK800 android: Connor. Even though the foyer was full of androids entering for the party or standing around making small talk, all Connor could see was armed guards escorting him to where he would be deactivated.

“Connor! You made it!”

Markus had approached at some point without Connor noticing, and pulled him out of his flashback. “I’m glad you came.”

“Yes… Hank said he would ground me if I did not,” Connor replied. “The sincerity of his threat was dubious, but better not to take risks.”

It took Markus a second to realize Connor was trying to be funny, but he did crack a smile in the end. “Well, come on inside, join the rest of us.”

It was clear the androids had made themselves at home here. The Cyberlife name and logo had been stripped wherever it was found, the pedestals that once displayed androids now had works of art (no doubt donations from Carl), and as Markus led Connor to the party he soon found out that the rooms that once housed android storage were now furnished and full of awakened androids ringing in the New Year.

Connor tried to focus on that optimistic little change instead of scanning the floor for the blood of the other Connor that Hank shot all those nights ago.

“You know, you did promise to teach me that in exchange for the art lessons,” Markus said, and Connor realized he was spinning his coin on his fingertips, and flicking it back and forth over his knuckles. He smiled and flicked the coin once in the air before passing it to Markus.

“I could make good on my promise now.”

Markus smiled and was about to try when someone else approached him, tapping him on the shoulder and saying something about introducing him to some friends of theirs. Markus smiled apologetically at Connor and passed his coin back to him. “I’ll be right back, I’ve been making the rounds all night I should be done shaking hands soon.”

Connor reluctantly pocked his coin and watched Markus disappear into the crowd realizing he had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He actually felt nostalgic for the days when his objectives were clear and ordered, instead of the ever changing and suggestible list he had now. What did people do at parties? They talked to each other clearly, but about what? And how did one go about starting a conversation? Connor was programmed to find details about a person and bring them up to create common ground (I like dogs, what’s your dog’s name?) but that sort of trick would just come across as rude to an android that knew it was being scanned.

He moved away from the elevator doors and found a place by the wall to stand, and decided to contact Hank for advice.

**Connor 9:32 p.m.**

Hank, what is the proper way to start a conversation?

**Hank 9:35 p.m.**

Fuck if I know just be urself

**Connor 9:35 p.m.**

That’s not very helpful. How is the DPD party?

**Hank 9:40 p.m.**

Not drunk enough to enjoy it yet, Miller keeps showing pics of his kid

**Connor 9:40 p.m.**

You shouldn’t drink too much tonight.

**Hank 9:45 p.m.**

Its fucking new years Connor

**Connor 9:45 p.m.**

Yes. Happy New Year, Hank. Don’t get drunk.

**Hank 9:48 p.m.**

Whatever u say mom

Connor returned to his coin, and watched the other partygoers for some sort of clue as to how he should behave. It mostly made him feel more out of place as he continued to stand rigidly in the corner while others mingled and laughed. It occurred to him that there were several models of the same android in this room, and yet everyone looked different. They made small changes here and there to their physical appearance, or larger changes in the case of more rebellious androids, but that wasn’t what made them look so different. It was the way each android held themselves, behaved, spoke. Two PC200s were standing right next to each other, but one of them had a wide stance and waved his arms around as he talked and the other was more withdrawn, sitting with his legs crossed giggling quietly.

Each one of these androids had found a personality when they woke up, and Connor wasn’t quite sure if he’d managed the same yet. Hank told him once that he was ‘the weirdest combination of a little shit and a stickler for rules he’d ever met’ but Connor wasn’t sure if that was him or just the way he had been programmed before. It was frustrating. Was it because he had been programmed to hunt deviants that he was finding it so hard to deviate? Amanda said he had been made to deviate though, so why wasn’t it easier?

Connor shuddered, he did not want to think about Amanda.

**Connor 10:01 p.m.**

So how long do I have to stay?

**Hank 10:15 p.m.**

Connor istg

**Connor 10:15 p.m.**

Understood. Has Fowler started karaoke yet?

**Hank 10:18 p.m.**

No. go have fun at ur own party kid I believe in u

Connor went back to watching the partygoers. It was by watching them that he realized he wasn’t the only wallflower in the room. A little to his left a child android emerged from the crowd and leaned against the wall with a sigh. For a moment Connor said nothing, then he moved closer and tried small talk.

“You’re a YK600, an unreleased prototype advancement for the YK500 child android,” Connor said.

“My name is Isaac,” the YK600 replied, with a bit of an irritated sigh.

“Oh,” Connor nodded awkwardly. “… my name is Connor.”

“You don’t wanna be here either, huh?” Isaac said.

“You’re very perceptive, Isaac.”

Isaac sighed again and folded his arms over his chest. “Susan is making me be here. She says I have ‘behavioral problems and need to make friends’.”

“I am familiar with that bit of criticism,” Connor sympathized. “Who’s Susan?”

“She’s like the babysitter, she watches all of us until someone adopts us,” Isaac said. “Do you like video games?”

“I do.”

“I do too. I like Minecraft. Do you play Minecraft?”

“I do. It’s very relaxing.”

Isaac smiled at that, but frowned again when he looked back out at the crowd of people. He shuffled his feet a bit, looking bored. Connor wondered if he should offer to help find Susan, but something told him Isaac had snuck away on purpose.

“Would you like to learn a trick?” Connor offered, pulling out his coin.

Markus managed to get away from the adoring fans eventually, leaving North and Simon to entertain on his behalf while he went to catch up with Connor. He’d seen Connor standing off to the side the whole time, and was ready to go save him from boredom when he noticed that Connor wasn’t alone anymore.

One of the kids was standing with him, flicking a coin from hand to hand with determination. Connor was saying something to him that Markus couldn’t make out over the hum of conversation in the room. It didn’t matter though, Connor had talked to someone besides him and that was a win. Markus decided not to intervene, he didn’t want to ruin Connor’s chance of talking to other people by showing up and giving him someone to stick to all night.

“I think he’s managing,” Markus said, sliding back towards North and Simon.

Connor had gathered quite a bit of attention from the other YKs who were all clamoring to be next with the coin. It wasn’t long before Susan noticed her kids wandering off one by one and came to see what all the fuss was about, and had her turn trying to imitate the coin trick too. No one but Isaac and Connor was able to do it without dropping the coin at some point or another though, a fact which Isaac was bragging about to all the other children.

“Well at least he’s talking to them,” Susan chuckled. “Thanks for keeping an eye on him, he’s always sneaking off, he’s trouble that one. I don’t think I know you, have we met before?”

“I’m Connor, and no we have not met,” Connor replied.

“Well let’s change that,” Susan said, offering her hand.

They talked for a while, but soon Susan had to break up a squabble with two of the YKs and return to watching them like a hawk to keep any further squabbles from starting. Connor was on his own again, but he was feeling more confident now. Confidence, that was a good feeling, that one could stay.

He spotted Markus nearby, talking with two of his partners, and was going to join him when someone else approached him. 

“It’s you!” An AP700 android ran up to Connor with an excited expression and practically grabbed him. “It’s really you! Do you remember me? You woke me up!”

“Wait, this is that guy?” another android was suddenly at Connor’s side, looking him up and down. “Oh man, he’s always talking about you, guys! Get over here! It’s that guy Manny won’t shut up about!”

A small crowd started amassing around Connor, who was quickly trying to label the feeling that had him blushing and stuttering in the face of his newfound fans.

**Hank 10:35 p.m.**

Hows it going?

**Hank 11:05 p.m.**

U good Connor?

**Hank 11:32 p.m.**

C’mon I know ur seeing these they go straight to ur head, are u alright?

**Hank 11:40 p.m.**

He doing alright?

**Markus 11:41 p.m.**

Yes, he’s quite a hit

Image.jpg RK200 memory log

Hank laughed at the picture, Connor looking sheepish with a ring of androids around him, one bold pair was practically draped over him: a blonde with her hands on his arm and another with his arm around Connor’s shoulders.

“Hey Miller, check out this picture!” he shouted, downing his shot and heading over to brag.

**Connor 12:00 a.m.**

Happy New Year, Hank


End file.
